International Stuttering Awareness Day is a holiday that’s observed on the 22nd of October every year and attempts to raise awareness about this disruption in speech patterns. It also attempts to raise support for people who are stutterers.

Stuttering affects approximately 1% of the world’s population and contrary to popular belief, there is no cure for it. However, there are effective treatments for stuttering that help people suffering from this communication disorder normalize their speech.

This day hopes to eventually eliminate societal discrimination against those who stutter, promote programs that help people manage their stuttering, and build a community where speech professionals can come together in a spirit of collaboration and come up with new treatments for stuttering.

The History Of International Stuttering Awareness Day

This holiday was born thanks to the International Stuttering Association (ISA). In Sweden in 1995, they created this holiday to raise awareness about stuttering, help speech communication professionals brainstorm new treatments, and support those who have a problem with stuttering. Of course, while the ISA originally suggested this holiday at this conference, it wouldn’t become official until a few years later.

In 1997, during an International Fluency Conference located in California in the U.S., a day was set aside for speech professionals to learn from those who stutter. Co-founder of the National Stuttering Project, Michael Sugarman, then said that there would be an international day set aside for stuttering awareness.

The following year, the International Stuttering Association, the European League of Stuttering Associations, and the International Fluency Association would set aside October 22nd as International Stuttering Awareness. It’s been observed on this day ever since.

Important Facts About Stuttering

Below are some important facts about stuttering that we feel everyone should know about, particularly people who are observing International Stuttering Awareness Day.

• Stuttering is a speech pattern that involves disruptions in a person’s speech.
• Stuttering can gradually start and develop over time. It can also suddenly appear.
• Stuttering usually begins between the ages of 2 and 5 years old.
• As many as 8 out of 10 children who stutter suddenly stop.
• Young children who continue to stutter into their school-age years will likely continue to stutter through their entire lives.

Observing International Stuttering Awareness Day

All across the planet, there are conferences and other events in support of International Stuttering Awareness Day. These also include media campaigns, educational activities, seminars, webinars, and public awareness events.

This is a great day for people to educate themselves on stuttering, tell other people the story of their stuttering, or stand up to people who make fun of stuttering. It’s also a good day to spread the word about the myriad of programs that are available for people who have a stuttering problem. This can easily be done by using the hashtag #InternationalStutteringAwarenessDay on social media.